And the Sky Bled Red
by hippiechick2112
Summary: The second and last part to "On the Run". Captain George von Rumey had been helped by the Heroes, but Hochstetter has captured and tortured him. Will Hogan and his men be betrayed? Or, will the Underground lose Stalag 13?
1. Hochstetter's Interrogation

**The Sky Bled Red**

**Note and Disclaimer:**** I'll be saying this every time. I don't own the characters to ****Hogan's Heroes****. I would like to thank those who have created this series. However, the characters I have created in this series (e.g. Colonel Michalovich, George von Rumey) belong to me, so if you want to use them in any story you wish to write, please email me with permission first. Their views, however disgusting to many, are NOT my own and I do not mean offense to anyone. Any violent actions in this story are to your discretion. Thank you!**

They pulled the lever again, an easy action for them to execute because they had nothing to gain, but somehow, everything to lose. And all I would do was sit there in agony, jerking my body to and fro and screaming for it to stop. They did it over and over again, as if enjoying me doing such. I was strapped and had no way to escape. The Gestapo could do as they wished to me. I am nothing but a traitor to them, no matter how I felt towards my Germany…my home. I did what I had to do to save myself and to wait for my country to be strong again. Alas, this was not my way.

"Now, tell me again, Captain von Rumey," Major Hochstetter said as he pulled the lever up, stopping my agony temporarily. "Where…is…Papa…Bear? Who is he?"

I shook my head, as if to say "No" and not betray Hogan and his Stalag 13 operation, but it enraged Hochstetter more. Rubbing his forehead once more (a vein kept making itself known there), as if frustrated and not just angry, Hochstetter seemed to have given up as he screamed with vengeance.

Indeed, it had been hours ago that they had taken me from my cell…taken me from daydreaming about my former life before going on the run to Stalag 13…and put me in this cold, damp room. Attached to a chair and strapped down, Major Hochstetter had only to question me and, with my silence, each pull of the lever brought…dreadful…bolts of lightning to my head, legs and arms. It made me hallucinate and almost talk through my dreams and nightmares. But I am strong. I am a German soldier and always will be, no matter what they all say. I would never betray my mother country. When it has turned its back on me, I keep faith with those who have helped me.

Apparently, Hochstetter had not anticipated this. He thought otherwise.

Another round of questions was given to me, but I do not remember them all. The jolting feeling was not given to me the last time these questions came around, so I considered it a mercy from Major Hochstetter.

Then, Hochstetter stood still, thinking, and then it looked like he thought of something totally obvious and had forgotten until that moment. He then asked something completely different. "Captain von Rumey, have you had any contact with an Underground agent, codename Desertstar?"

My head whipped up with interest, but not recognition. Yes, I had heard of the agent. Nobody knew who he (she?) was. All _anybody_ knew of was of an agent (female they think, as I knew the Gestapo thought the male voice too feminine), posing to get German intelligence, in Paris. Some have ideas on who this agent is, but he (she?) is as slippery as Nimrod. No Gestapo agent or loyal German (or citizens of France, Vichy or otherwise) have been able to catch this agent. Hochstetter has been hot on the trial for almost a year and seems to have come closer, but to ask me about the agent was silly. _Why the question, though?_

"Ah, so you know her?" Hochstetter asked, pacing the small room, his hands behind his back.

With a head shake, sweat coming down of my face, I denied that I knew Desertstar. It was the truth, anyhow. I didn't know the agent personally, but _knew_ of him (her?). _Oh, Lilli, what have I gotten myself into? Why did I trust the Underground? Why did I have to follow prisoners of war? Look where I am now. I should be dead, along with you, who have tried to save my life._

The shock came back suddenly, shorter than the rest of the tortuous sessions, but it stopped within a few seconds. Then, again from Hochstetter: "Tell me again, von Rumey, what do you know of the Allied agent named Desertstar?"

I shut my eyes, only to open them to a strange sight. It was my wife, my Lilli, and not Hochstetter. Lilli flashed before my eyes, white like a ghost, gesturing for me to come with her. _But it isn't my time yet. No, I can't stand this agony anymore, _I wanted to tell her, thinking. _I want to live. I want to see myself live again. I want our son, Jozef, to escape Germany. He has a good sense of what side would win. If only he would listen to me, I can live happily and we will be safe._

"None, I swear it!" Lilli suddenly disappeared and there was Hochstetter again, putting his hand on the lever again. Oh, God, I knew that I had been pressured under this great weight, but I had told the truth, and already, I could see the ghosts of those who loved me. The Gestapo may not have seen how much agony I was in for telling them the truth, but they wanted the answers they needed. Then, it would be the end of those who tried to help me.

Hochstetter saw it – my fear, shown for the first time ever – and smiled. He knew, well enough, that any amount of torture can make any man confess and speak anything. But this was not what he expected. He saw the fear and my strength into one person, but he could not make me break.

"And what of Colonel Hogan?" Hochstetter then asked. "Our agents have assured us that Hogan sent you to your meeting place. The codename had been Papa Bear and Hogan's voice was overheard. Is that not true?"

"It is wishful thinking on your part," I said spitefully, and for that I was punished. I felt another jolt of pain pulse through my body. And then…and then, was it all black again. I felt no more.


	2. No Hope At All

Images of the past went through my head once more, most of them of my family – my wife and son. They came back with me to Germany, to be on the run once more, and they paid the price for it dearly. I don't know where Jozef can be, but Lilli…my Lilli is dead and gone. Her figure kept coming into my unconscious vision, though, even as I knew her gone. But there she was, putting her finger to her lips, as if to shush me. She reached for my head – my hair was receding, anyhow – and smiled before the image of such an angel as a _clank_ took her away.

Clouds filled my eyes once more, leaving me to wonder where I was. When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was, again, in my prison cell. I looked to the small window above me, feet higher than my head. I adjusted my eyes – I was lying on the prison floor and tilted my head upward – and sighed as I looked up. The sky above me, I saw, was red. The sky looked like it was bleeding red, so bright the color was.

"Come on, up you go," the voice said. The guard's boots came into view when I looked to the source of the voice. "I have a message for you. It's from Major Hochstetter. Come on, up you go!"

A rough set of hands pulled me up and seated me upon the cell's metal bench chained to the damp wall. My eyes could not adjust so quickly, but I heard the door slam close and felt the guard shaking me.

"Come on, von Rumey, I have a message from you," the guard said again.

"What does Herr Major want this time?" I asked defiantly, not caring whether I lived or died anymore.

"No, no, von Rumey, it's not what Major Hochstetter wants, although he wants any things from you." I tried to follow the voice, feel the arms that I knew were around my body, but I could not. I felt like I was losing all of my senses, save for hearing. I could hear that voice, a voice full of hope. Someone was being compassionate towards me.

_How strange_, I thought. _The only person in this world who would be such to me is gone. Why should there be another to help me? It is hopeless._

"Captain von Rumey, stay with me. Let me say this once and never again. There are no other guards around, since most of the prisoners have been transferred to other cities or have been executed already. You are the only prisoner here and I am your guard. Hochstetter wanted it this way so that no one can say he was torturing you."

I nodded my head. I felt it, I knew I did. Feeling was coming back. I concentrated harder. I wanted to hear more.

My guard continued, happy to know I was listening, I could tell in his voice. "Now, von Rumey, be careful. We are planning an escape route for you, to follow you to England. We will send your son to you later. We know he's playing a double agent, codename Athena. He's being a 'wise' fool and we need to send him to safety before he does something stupid. He's a young man and shouldn't be fighting, no?"

I agreed with him, but said nothing because of the influence I had on my son. I tried to raise my son, but it hard to when Mother had a hand in his raising. Lilli saw that it always was fruitless to fight with Mother and let Jozef be raised by her. Since then, we've tried to have children and failed, with two sons and a daughter dead, all infants.

"What do you say, von Rumey?" the guard asked.

I tried working my mouth, but it was tough. It took a few minutes, but I managed to say, "I don't give a damn anymore."

The guard shook his head sadly. I saw it when my vision became clearer. "You should care," he replied. "Colonel Hogan is depending upon you to escape and go to England. I was sent here by the Underground to ensure your safety. They're concerned for you. Major Armstrong and his men escaped and asked about you. When they heard that you were here, they demanded that you escape."

"Since those men played a trick on me to escape for their own means, why should it matter to me?" I asked when I worked my mouth some more. "We're done here. Come back here when you can help me, truly. I don't want the help. I have no hope anymore."

The guard looked into my eyes and sighed. "I'll be back tomorrow. I'll ask again, for sure, and hope you change your mind. You have a lot to live for, von Rumey. Why waste it all away? Your son needs you. Your wife may be dead now, but you could help the family you have left. I mean, your sister is out there. What do you think about her?"

"I have known nothing about Nikola since 1928," I replied spitefully, still angry with her, I guessed. "I don't care about her nor do I care what she is doing for the war. My love for her died when her Russian Communist father took Mother away from me and my brothers."

"You should care, I suppose," the guard sighed. "Well, I should go, von Rumey. Think about what I've said. Tell me more about your sister later. Family stories should come after our business, no?"

I shook my head, not caring about Nikola, and closed my eyes. I didn't want to escape or feel pain or to run away ever again. I wanted to die and to be with my Lilli. I wanted her so badly it hurt.

Within a few minutes, I heard the door open and close, not caring about the guard. When I opened my eyes, I saw my prison cell clearly – the sky had turned from red and orange, yellow and some blue – and there, before me, was my Lilli.

Lilli looked so real, and yet, she was pale, like death. She was no longer the white figure I saw in the torture room. She was real, wearing the same clothes I saw her last in, before she shoved me into the study before she was killed because of her refusal to give information.

"It's a trap, you know," she said to me, plain as day. I heard her, the first words I heard from her since she pleaded with me to go hide. "That guard was sent by your Major Hochstetter to trap you and give another reason to execute you."

"I don't care anymore, Lilli," I replied back with indifference. "I cannot take it anymore. I can't take this life anymore. I want to be with you. I want to see you once more and hold you."

Lilli looked at me just as sadly as the guard did earlier and shook her head, her red tresses perfectly arranged as she shook. "I am the ghost of your future, George. Please, listen to me. You have to live for our son. Let me prove to you what Major Hochstetter is planning. You need to escape on your own terms and find him. You need to get him out of Germany and run like before."

"But it's been my life!" I yelled. "All I've ever done in my life is run! I've run to America, I've run to Germany and I've run away from Germany! I'm tired of running, Lilli. I want to have a home. I want to have a place where I can't worry anymore and have to run once more, in order to escape danger. I want you, Lilli. I want you in my life."

"But you can't anymore," Lilli whispered gently, coming towards me, taking me by the hand. "Come with me and see. Let me prove to you the trustfulness of men."

I let her. I let this ghost of mine take me by the hand and lead me to the door of my prison. I had not been able to walk for days, but with Lilli, I walked and felt like I was on a cloud. I felt like I was in the air and walking on nothing.

At the door, the metal door, Lilli motioned for me to look out the thin slot and to listen.

"Sergeant Amsel, you have done a good job." I heard Major Hochstetter talking. "It's a step in the right direction."

"But Major, he did not seem to care about escaping," the guard named Amsel said. "He did not care about anything and wanted to only die. He even didn't care about his stepsister, Colonel Nikola Michalovich. Should I tell him where she is?"

"No, no, Sergeant, that won't be necessary." Hochstetter was quiet for a moment. "I think he'll meet her again soon enough. She's supposed to be transferred to Stalag 13, on the orders of General Burkhalter. Apparently the General thinks his prison camps need female medical personal and picked some out from Auschwitz." Hochstetter laughed harshly. "It's not like some of them will be alive for it, anyhow. Colonel Michalovich will be chosen for execution along with Major Donovan-White. I know them to be working with Desertstar, if not one of them is her."

"And you want the information from the prisoner?" Amsel asked.

"Yes," Hochstetter replied. "We need anything we can. Ask around Hammelburg, if necessary, on information on Papa Bear and if von Rumey was seen in the woods, especially in the area near Stalag 13. I have a feeling that he went to the Allies and worked with Hogan."

"He's given me no reason to think he worked with Hogan." Amsel looked thoughtful, but then an angry glance towards my cell came.

I ducked, only that if I was caught, I'd be shot immediately for eavesdropping. So, I dropped to the foot of my door. Lilli came to sit down next to me.

"Do you believe me now?" she asked me. "Nikola may have been a pain to the family and was a liability to everybody, but she has feelings. She's a human being. Are you willing to save her and let her live? If not, our son is the last of the generation."

"I don't even know or care where Nikola is now," I replied bitterly.

"I know," Lilli said gently. "But everything you hear is truth. She's a spy. She worked in Paris against Germany. She's seems to be the only true German, really. She is no Nazi, like we were. And we only wanted the best for our country. We chose wrong."

"Don't give me a guilty conscience, too!" I yelled. "Don't you dare do it! Don't start with me, Lilli, please! I suffer enough guilt. Please stop!"

I closed my eyes, hoping Lilli would stop speaking in such a way. I knew she was always sympathetic to Nikola, although she said nothing and watched as we beat her all the time. But I could not handle the pain anymore. I wanted her to stop speaking and for her to just hold me and take me away. I wanted to die still.

Yet, when I opened my eyes once more, she was gone. Lilli was gone once more.


	3. Hogan is Betrayed

The next day came quickly. I slept next to my door, hoping for Lilli to come back, but she did not. Instead, dreams of the past came back to me, before we came back to Germany for the last time. I saw Nikola sleeping in the attic on a snowy night, a book on her chest and a finger marking the last place she read. I saw Werner and Kurt wrestling with each other and then looking at me, with their eyes just like Mother's, knowing that I was, like Nikola, the odd person in the family. I even saw Mother, every night dressing up and going into town to be with people like her.

Right then and there, I knew that I wanted to belong to Germany. I didn't care about Hogan, his men or Nikola anymore. So, she's a spy. Let her be executed, if possible. In exchange for my freedom, I'll even tell them everything about Hogan, his tunnel system, his men and their connections to the Underground.

A _creak_ behind me woke me up. Quickly, I scrambled from the door to the metal seat, wanting to be awake for the next interrogation, or in case Amsel came back to talk to me.

A light behind the door blinded me for a minute, but revealed Amsel. I felt relief pour over me, but only for a minute. Guilt also came with it, but I shook it away. I could not have guilt at a time like that. I was to be a strong German officer, able to tell about her enemies. I was not one of them.

Amsel closed the door and looked at me. "We need to speak of many things, von Rumey," he started as he closed the door behind him.

"Yes, yes, we do," I replied. "For once, I would like to offer _you_ and Major Hochstetter something." When Amsel shook his head, I continued. "No, no, I don't want any of your escape plans. I want to do things _my_ way."

I saw the anger in the guard's eyes, but he kept his temper in check. "The Underground is willing to help you," Amsel started.

"I do not want anything to do with the Underground." I smiled. "I have information that, perhaps, Hochstetter would _love_ to have, if you get my meaning."

Amsel smiled back at me. "So, we are in agreement," he said. "I thought you for a traitor, von Rumey. You have done an excellent job in concealing your true intentions. Major Hochstetter will be pleased to hear of this new development."

My ghost, my Lilli, was right in telling me that it was a trap, but I didn't care. I wanted my freedom back, regardless if Hochstetter and Amsel saw me as a traitor to be watched or a loyal man to reward. "Tell the Major I want an interview, no interrogation," I requested. "I have information regarding my journey from Stalag 17 to Stalag 13 and to here. I think he would like to have some of it in exchange for some things."

I saw Amsel scratch his head in puzzlement, but he said nothing to deny me that. However, behind him, I saw my Lilli, in white this time instead of color. Making the room awfully cold, I watched her movements behind Amsel. She looked devastated, wounded even. As Amsel rubbed his arms for warmth, Lilli pressed her pointing finger to her lips once more, telling me to be quiet, but I had no intentions to. Why should a ghost tell me what to do?

"Furthermore," I continued as Lilli disappeared and the room became warm once more, "in exchange for my information, I would like to be reinstated into the German Army _with _a promotion to Major and a position away from the Front Lines."

Amsel rubbed his hands together – goosebumps lining his arms – and grinned once more. "Step right this way, _Major_ von Rumey," he said. "I'll have you sit in Major Hochstetter's office until I reach him. It might be a while."

~00~

"It might be a while" turned into five minutes. By the time I sat down and looked around Hochstetter's neat Gestapo office – no pictures but that of Hitler, but very homey feeling, indeed – the Major himself had come in, looking like he had been rushed. Compared to me, however, still in a dirtied German uniform, the Major looked, as always, well-groomed, but always agitated.

Major Hochstetter went to sit at his desk, taking his gloves off. "So, von Rumey, you have information about Stalag 13?" he asked, getting down to business quickly (another American phrase I borrowed from the prisoners of Stalag 17).

"Yes, of course," I replied, averting my glance away from Hochstetter and then turning back to him. "You have, naturally, heard my terms."

Hochstetter grinned. "Let us see if the information you give to us is correct or not," the Major concurred. I knew, right then and there, that I had won my freedom.

"Then let me start with Colonel Nikola Michalovich and Stalag 17," I mumbled, for dramatic effect. Then, I spoke up. "Major, you know I had been set up. Both Stalags 17 and 13 had been working together with the Underground. Hogan and his men have a secret tunnel system, in which they process escaping prisoners and German civilians, make counterfeit money and even run out of themselves, going out to blow up ammunition dumps and such. _They_ were the culprits. _They_ are the ones responsible for the recent happenings around Hammelburg."

I went on and on. I told Hochstetter about how Hogan and his men sneak out at night and fool around with Kommandant Klink. I explained how they kept Klink's "no escape" record and even how they infiltrate the German towns and destroy the German war effort. Before long, I was becoming desperate, but not showing it to Hochstetter. I lied about Nikola and Hogan, saying that they were lovers and communicated regularly.

"Nikola is Desertstar, and I sure of it," I continued, still talking after ten minutes. "She was in Paris, last I remembered, and her communications stopped when she was sent to Auschwitz this past December. This I heard from Hogan's mouth himself."

I stopped after explaining everything to Hochstetter about Hogan and his men. Then, and finally, I talked about my journey from Stalag 17 to Hochstetter's office, stating that the prisoners of both stalags were behind the murder of Bröckenheimer – telling him it was not my fault – and, through their lies, I was hunted down by my own family.

Hochstetter listened with interest, nodding his head here and there. When I was finished, he smiled, showing teeth – the predator's grin. "So, von Rumey, you've told me what I've been suspecting all along. Thank you for your…generous information. You will be reinstated into the German Army as of today and promoted to Major. Your new position will be with the Gestapo and to help us capture these Allied spies."

Beads of sweat pouring down my face when I heard of this great opportunity for me, I replied. "Thank you, Major. I won't let you – or anybody else – down."

However, I knew that had let one person down, and she was behind Hochstetter, white again and crying, a sob coming over her invisible being. I wanted to talk to her, to reassure her that it was all for the better, but she disappeared once more, disappeared once more to haunt me whenever something happened or when I needed help.

Hochstetter only rubbed his arms – complaining about the cold and how the heat was never on – and dismissed me.


	4. A New Assignment

Within the week, I was walking out of the Hammelburg Gestapo Headquarters, feeling happy and satisfied. Hochstetter had reassured me that we were going to get Hogan, his men and Nikola after his interrogation of her and her friend, Major Donovan-White, the latter two who were coming to Hammelburg by train in the beginning of May. Execution was high on Hochstetter's list of things to do to them, but I had no doubt, in my mind, that Nikola was somehow going to survive. She always did.

It was about the middle of April of 1943 when I was released from Hammelburg Gestapo prison. By then, I had some serious work to do. Because I had transferred from one part of the German Army to the next, I had paperwork to do and papers to sign, explaining everything. I had not seen my mother or stepfather (they had been informed about my reinstatement) and they had not sent word to me. I had figured as much (again, borrowing yet another American statement) and did not bother to contact them, either.

Towards the end of April, when I was almost finished with my paperwork pile and was finally going to be let out on investigations with Hochstetter, I was visited by the person I had not seen in a couple of weeks. She moved gracefully through my new office – next to Hochstetter's office and it was just as nice as his – and stopped in front of my desk. I noticed her out of the corner of my eye, but ignored it until I could not anymore.

"Are you really going to ignore me, George?" Lilli asked me. She seated herself in front of my desk – white, yes, but looking solid – and put her hands in her lap, which was always a habit with her. Mother had taught her well, the wild child she was before our marriage.

I looked up, stopped writing, and was about to get back to work, but decided not to because of the intensity in Lilli's eyes. "I'm working, Lilli," I replied. "I got out of Gestapo prison easily. I'm tired of running away from everything, so I played the only card I knew. Hogan and his men are only the enemies of Hitler's Germany. Why should I care for them? They trapped me, put me through torture, and now, here I am. I'm just showing them who's boss. After all, we Germans are Aryans, the Master Race."

Lilli sighed with frustration and threw her hands into the air. "Do you really believe in that?" she asked of me. "I don't and never did. George, they are _human beings_. They helped you. It was not their fault that you were captured. _They_ were going to help you, if only you waited another day. Hogan and his men were going to rescue you and bring you to England if you waited another day for them. They had a plan. Hochstetter and Amsel were playing with you, to see if you would catch _their_ bait, because they knew of an Underground effort to rescue you."

"How do you know this?" I snarled, angry that my own dead wife – bothering me for weeks, at that point – was telling me what to do.

"I know everything and nothing," Lilli answered mystically. "George, please listen to me. Hochstetter is using you. He knows you went through Stalag 13 and has been there many times already after you told him about the tunnels. He hasn't found anything already and is angry. And soon enough, he'll be around to get you again. You'll be back in prison. And you'll be dead, just like me. I'll welcome it, because I miss you, but I will regret you not living longer than I did."

And with that, my Lilli disappeared, without a trace of her around afterward. I shook with anger and frustration. _What does she know? Nothing, that's it! She's a ghost. Why should I listen? She's dead, dead and gone!_

I looked back to my paperwork, ignoring this exchange.

~00~

The next day, as I was called by Hochstetter – for it was supposed to be my first day investigating the populace – I felt a chill down my spine. I wasn't nervous or anything, but it seemed like _something_ was going to happen again. I could not tell, but chose to ignore it again. After all, I was not supposed to believe in superstition or foreboding feelings and thoughts.

"Ah, _Major_ von Rumey, come here." Hochstetter spotted me in the hallway of Hammelburg Gestapo Headquarters on the appointed day I was supposed to be working with him, a woman standing next to him. "I have an assignment for you. Major, this is Gabrielle Loewe. She'll be with you today."

When I took a better look at the person on Hochstetter's side, I realized that it was the same woman who met me when Hogan sent me out, to go to England. She was the leader of the group that stuck her head out, telling me to get inside and to split up, because the Gestapo was everywhere.

"It's a…pleasure to meet you again, Major." Gabrielle put her hand out, as if she wanted me to shake it. I took her hand and shook absentmindedly, but I noticed her large grey eyes were on me – searching for my weaknesses and if I was truly a part of them.

After the greeting, Hochstetter told me what he wanted us to do. "Major, Ms. Loewe and yourself will be in Hammelburg to watch the town. There has been more sabotage around the area and it must be _thoroughly_ and _closely_ investigated. Hogan and his men are our _prime_ suspects."

"Herr Major, didn't General Dreher order us to leave Hogan and his men alone?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes still on me. "We have no evidence to point us to Stalag 13. Even _I_ didn't have contact with Papa Bear, but was told to wait for his 'package'. I was contacted through another Underground agent."

"Tomorrow, when I pick up Colonel Michalovich and Major Donovan-White, we will have our evidence. They are bound to _crack_." Hochstetter sounded confident. He also looked to me – his savior almost, a person who gave evidence, both true and false – and smiled.

_Oh, what does it matter? Hogan and his men are doomed prisoners, no matter what._

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the white figure of Lilli again, but she disappeared before I could actually see her fully.

"We are supposed to be talking with an agent in town, as well," Gabrielle added, when there was silence after Hochstetter's positive reply to her, as if she were only talking to me. "We do not know if he is our agent or the Allies', but we're sure to find out soon enough."

Hochstetter mumbled something about the agent being on the other side and how Gabrielle and her colleagues were supposed to have caught him by now, but if Gabrielle heard, she took no notice.

"So, when are we to leave?" I asked. I was eager to go out into the town and to feel the fresh air on my face again.

"This afternoon," Hochstetter answered. "Ms. Loewe, do you have your other agents ready?"

Gabrielle's grey eyes again looked at me – surveying my once more – and smiled. "Of course, Herr Major," she replied, still staring at me. "Everything is as planned."


	5. Threatened by Agents

It was a beautiful day in Hammelburg – at first, before it became cloudy as we walked into town – as Gabrielle and I went out on our assignments. She may have been the "leader" in this mission, but I wasn't sure I was going to learn nothing from her and, most certainly, learn how much she truly hated me.

I walked through the town of Hammelburg with her – surveying every person here and there, especially those who looked at me – but only stopped my observing when she halted in front of a local Hammelburg auto shop and turned to face me.

"Major, this place has been suspected of holding Allied sympathies," she hissed at me carefully. "Major Hochstetter has sent his car here and is temporarily borrowing another while he completes his own assignment. I want you to go in there and investigate, but do it carefully. Ask about his car, snoop around, and make sure we have enough evidence to condemn them. We must see them down!"

"Who, exactly, lives and works here?" I asked quietly, noting the annex above the shop and the workers themselves slaving over cars in the section below. It was behind the house, for sure, for I could see nothing of it but cars behind the gate.

"Their codenames are Maeve and Rhiannon, brothers, we think," Gabrielle replied just as quietly. "They run the shop here and sleep above it at night. Their relatives work at the factories at night. However, we have some evidence to prove that they are all Underground agents and are hiding Jews in their walls and floors. Major, I want you to check the annex and other places and report."

I looked from the busy bustle of the town to the peacefulness of the shop. However, before I could ask anything or complete my assignment, I saw Gabrielle walking away from me, as if she was going to the market, but then, she turned around to face me.

The woman came back to me, as if she forgot to tell me something, which I had been hoping. I was hoping Gabrielle would warm up to me, but, with those eyes always on me the way they are, I didn't think so.

"Major Hochstetter will be conducting interrogations at Stalag 13 today," Gabrielle reminded me as she came back. "Remember that. He will be counting on you to help if you link any of these people to the agents he is interrogating at Stalag 13. If you see anything out of the ordinary, tell us as soon as possible. Shoot anybody that stands in your way."

I nodded, as if I didn't know this already, and grinned. I put my hand to my gun, as if to show her that I had it with me.

"Colonel Michalovich and Major Donovan-White will be put to death, fur sure," Gabrielle added. "Major Hochstetter is sure to execute them both today."

For some reason, I shuddered. I didn't mean to, but I did. I then scowled about it, as if I did it without realizing it and was scoffing at the idea of shuddering, but I could not shake Gabrielle off of me. Her grey eyes were on me once more, looking for more weaknesses intently – sure signs that I was not loyal to any of them – and storing, in her mind, things to tell Major Hochstetter.

Before I could answer for my actions, Gabrielle turned around again and disappeared into the crowds that circled around us. Despite the clouds and coming rain, I was still wondering why people were out and about.

~00~

I was alone again. _My assignment is clear. I have to investigate the shop, make sure that all of them are not Underground agents and check for Jews in the walls and floors. _I smiled again. _And if I don't find anything, I could have my own team check the premises and shoot to kill. I could be promoted once more for my actions. To catch Underground agents and Jews are a plus._

I turned to walk to the gate on the side of the house/shop, walking up the pathway. The cursing from the men in the shop filled my ears while old oil dribbled down the pavement, wetting my boots the further up I walked. I was not pleased with it, but ignored it. It was an auto shop. _Surely, they could not help it?_

I got to the gate, glancing to all sides, looking for someone to talk to about Major Hochstetter's car. There was nobody I could yell for – indeed, the noises from the shop drowned out my yelling when I tried – and I had to wait. Fortunately for me, it was not long before someone came up to see me. Out of the corner of his eye, for sure, a man looked up from his work and saw it, although I could not figure out how. The shop was around the corner and nobody could see me at the gate.

The man walked over to me and put out his hand. "Can I help you?" he asked, his bright light brown eyes shining on me. I could help but notice them, for the eyes were the only feature – like Gabrielle's – that I saw were the most prominent.

I took the man's hand – again, ignoring the dirt and grime – and shook. "I am Major George von Rumey. I'm here to check on Major Hochstetter's car. It is here for repair."

"Ah, the Gestapo Major's car," the man muttered back, taking his hand back. "It is ready, but would be a few minutes. My workers will need to wash and wax the car before giving it back. It got dirty when we fixed the problems. It will take a few minutes. Would you like to come inside for some food and coffee?"

I must have hesitated –I was on assignment, after all – and it took the man back with a little shock. "Major, it would only be a few minutes. I'm sure you have things to do, but a few minutes out of a day would not hurt anything."

How he dared to speak to a Gestapo officer like that, I would never know. The man had courage. I could have arrested him on the spot for disrespect.

"It must be quick," I answered quickly, knowing I had the chance that I needed to investigate his home above the shop.

"Oh, yes, it will be." The man then tilted his head upward, looking at the sky. Indeed, the day was slowly turning over to a rainstorm. It was giving me extra time to work and somehow, I was grateful for it.

The man then opened the gate, letting me in, and led me through their yard full of fixed and broken cars, going through the shop carefully (I about bumped into many mechanics along the way) and going through a door at the back of the shop. We went up the stairs quietly – the man said that some of his family, who lived here, worked at the factories at night – and, when the upstairs door was opened, we entered a kitchen.

The man offered me a seat and then sat down himself, pouring some coffee into two cups already on the table and offering me some pastries. "Sit, Major. I have not given you my name, have I? I am Emil Ambros. My brother, Jörg, and I own the shop below."

I took the coffee cup from Emil as soon as I sat down (declining the pastries), smiling as I drank in real coffee, not the wartime brew we usually have. "You know me already…Emil. I am here to pick up Major Hochstetter's car and bring it back to Gestapo Headquarters."

"You also have more than this assignment, for sure," Emil replied, immediately knowing what I was doing. His eyes told me – those light, brown eyes that stared into a person's soul – and it frightened me. I _knew_ that he knew.

"Every Gestapo agent is to check the loyalty of all citizens, no matter who they are," I stated plainly as I put my cup down. "We even must do it within our ranks, so we know there are no traitors amongst us."

"Then check this house, Major." Emil sipped his coffee slowly, without showing any emotion to me whatsoever. "We have nothing to hide from the Gestapo."

Lilli suddenly appeared in-between us next to the table, a white form again, and locked her own eyes into mine, trying to get my attention. "George, there are Jews hiding in here," I heard her say, as if it was a whisper. "Don't take them away to the concentration camps, please. They want to live. They don't deserve a fate such as that."

I ignored the silent pleas in my ears and saw the white form disappear once more.

"We do many passageways, to store things, of course." Emil went on, as if he didn't see the ghost to his right the minute before. "We have many supplies, usually. Oftentimes, we have too many and store them. The passageways seem to have been there for years. They were, by accident, discovered by our mother. She just leaned into the wall and all of a sudden, it collapsed on her and there, she found a doorway!"

I got up, suddenly hearing a noise, like a footstep – a creak in the floors.

"Oh, Major von Rumey, there are many people who live here," Emil explained, as if calming me down. "My parents are on the third floor, upstairs from here, and my uncle and aunt and many cousins have the third floor and attic. My brother and I have this floor. It's a bit of a crowded house, what, with all the noise and people!"

I knew that the noise came from behind the walls to my left. There was no door on that wall. Gabrielle was right: there were people hiding in the house, in those passageways.

Thunder suddenly went off outside of the window and a rain started to fall wildly, without making a pattern on the windows. Lightning was not far behind them.

"Emil, there are Jews hiding in those walls!" I yelled over the thunder. "Show them to me, now, or be shot as a traitor!"

The man got up quickly, worried almost, and defended himself, a gun in his hands in a flash. "Major, I should not be talking. Considering where you have been and what you have been doing, you should not point your fingers. You may have escaped Major Hochstetter's torture and betrayed Stalag 13, but you will not turn them in. Already, I've heard that one agent of ours have survived and the other is dead. And the dead one isn't your stepsister."

I took out my gun, about to shoot Emil because of his threat to me. "I did what I have to do for my country," I exclaimed. "You are a traitor, _Maeve_, you and your brother and family as well."

"Be careful with your words, again, Major." Emil, not denying the codename, looked desperate, pointing his own weapon at my head. He then spoke something in English – it was a heavy German accent, I can tell, even though I could hardly understand him – and smiled. Back to speaking German, he added, "You know your son is a double agent himself. So, whose side is he on, Germany's or the Allies'? Who would _you_ consider to be the real winner, Major?"

"Don't play games with me," I growled. "I have no time for it."

"I could do as I wish," Emil replied, smiling still. "We have evidence already planted that you are on our side. When something happens to us, especially to Stalag 13, your fall will be swift and easy. You will be eliminated. Don't underestimate the Underground, Sir, because we are stronger than you think. I have Tiger on alert, for when you are ready to be dropped from our sights."

Out of the corner of my eye, as if the name was to announce, I saw a woman come into the kitchen. Her short blonde hair shone in my face, as if she were an angel. But, she was also holding a gun against me. I was crowded, two against one, and I had no way to call for back-up. I had two of the most famous agent of the Underground and yet, I could not control them. I could not arrest them. They had _me_ under their thumbs. They had _me _in their control.

"Oui, I could easily just kill you here," the agent, Tiger obviously, said to me. "But it is too much trouble. But I have something better for you to do if you decide to tell more about Colonel Hogan and his men."

I looked to one and the other, knowing that I was defeated. Putting down my gun, I growled, letting them know that they had succeeded. "What do you want me to do?" I yelled again. "I have to work with my mother country, despite everything. I went to Stalag 13 and I was caught. What are their lives to mine?"

Tiger and Maeve did not put their guns down. "Maybe you should side with us," Tiger suggested, walking towards me. "Oui, this is what you should do."


	6. Another Stab in the Back

I could barely drive back to Gestapo Headquarters with Major Hochstetter's car, thinking about Tiger's plan to keep me in place, to keep me from telling Hochstetter about Emil Ambros, his brother and the Jews hiding in the walls and floors. I could stay with the Gestapo and yet, spy for the Allies and not be killed by the Underground. I was in that position once more and I hated it.

This made me feel trapped, more so than ever before: a mouse trying to hide from the cats. However, I could not argue. Tiger had a plan to eliminate me as easily as I was a bug on the ground, annoying her. I wanted to live – live once more, my own way – but, I know it is not to be. Somehow, I would have to find my own way out of these tangled alliances and get out of Germany. I knew that Switzerland looked nice and could easily be a way out, but I was not sure if I wanted to leave Germany at all. I felt like my job was not done yet and my destiny was yet to be fulfilled.

The new information, said to Hochstetter when he gets back from Stalag 13, was going to cost me my life, I'm sure, if Tiger gets to me. But, all I had to do was lie. I had to lie about Emil Ambros, say that he was never a part of the Underground and hiding Jews in his walls and floors, and I could be free, if only for a moment. I could keep my position as a Gestapo agent and somehow, devise a plan to get back at Tiger, who shouldn't have intimidated me. She is a woman, no less, and the enemy! She shouldn't be frightening me.

However, with my Lilli in the back seat, staring me silently as I looked in the mirrors to look behind me, I knew that it was not going to be. I was a haunted man, a hunted man always on the run, for the remainder of my days. There was no escape for this mouse.

~00~

The drive back to Gestapo Headquarters was difficult, to say the least. The rain was relentless and was not letting up soon. The roads flooded, causing some of them to be closed. However, with my pass back to the Hammelburg Gestapo Headquarters, I got through all of them, despite getting stuck in the mud, having the engine stop on me numerous times, starting up again, and then having a few Luftwaffe soldiers help me push the car a mile. In the end, I steered the car as a Luftwaffe Corporal pushed. I paid him handsomely, of course, and thanked him for helping. I didn't care that Hochstetter's car was damaged further. I completed my assignment of bringing it back…and even bringing back information. I wasn't afraid of Tiger. I was going to have her and her friends in a noose, if I can help it.

However, the day was not over yet and I knew it. Worse, it seems, was the outcome of the interrogation Hochstetter was holding at Stalag 13. It was obvious, when I came back, that it did not go as well as the Major wanted it to go. The atmosphere, when I arrived, was bleak and angry: Hochstetter's warning cry.

I shivered when running to the door in the rain, knowing to keep away from the Major, if I could not contain the information for much longer. I had to tell him!

I soon came in from the rain, handing the keys to Hochstetter's car to his secretary at the door, who trembled as she waited anxiously at the door for me. Irma, who usually stayed away from Hochstetter as much as possible and only spoke in whispers when she did speak, was beside me as soon as I came in from the rain. Also taking my boat and hat from me, Irma ran to put them out to dry and then ran back to me, hissing her warnings.

"Major Hochstetter is very angry, Herr Major," Irma said quickly as we walked to my office…and Hochstetter's, next door. "He was only able to get information from one of the accused agents."

I was surprised to see Irma say "accused agents", because we all knew that the two new prisoners at Stalag 13 were spies and agents of the Underground, but I said nothing back about it. I didn't wish to incriminate myself with Irma, if she happened to be on the other side and spying on _me_. I doubted it, not even picturing this petite and pretty girl to be a spy for the Underground.

"Which one confessed?" I only asked, half-hoping that it was Nikola and not her friend. My heart felt like it was in a grip, in anticipation and optimism. I wanted my half-sister dead.

"It was the Major, the older one," Irma answered, dashing some of my hope. "She confessed at the last minute, when the Senior P.O.W. Officer was let into Colonel Klink's office. The younger one…what was her name?" She paused. "Oh, yes, it was Colonel Michalovich. She escaped with her life, but just barely. She didn't say anything, but being a prisoner of some camp. That was all I heard from Major Hochstetter."

"How do you know all of this?" I scratched my balding head. "Major Hochstetter doesn't need you much. You're only his secretary."

Irma smiled a little: thin, cold and even calculating, the first I had ever seen of it, the first I had ever seen a person go from timid to shrewd. "Major Hochstetter called me in to dictate and to write up a report, but he was so frustrated that he could not finish it up. I could not bother him if I were you, Major, unless you have some good news for him."

"I think I do have some 'good news' for him," I answered back sharply. "Now, where is he now?"

Irma only pointed to Hochstetter's office, backing away slowly and returning to the shy creature I always knew her as. "Be careful, Sir," she only said as she withdrew to her own office space.

Hochstetter was surprised, and even livid (the vein was popping out again, so I knew that he was very angry), as I knocked on his door and entered his office without permission. "I have some news for you, Major," I said immediately, trying not to be the target of his wrath once more. "It's very good news, I think."

"Out with it then, Rumey," Hochstetter replied as he looked up from his work at the desk, waving his hand, very uncharacteristic of him. I would have thought he'd yell at me to get out or to shut up. It was an interesting turn of events to hear him tell me otherwise.

I entered the office and closed the door, walking towards Hochstetter and sitting in a chair before his desk. "Sir, I have reason to believe that the shop you sent me to is housing not only Allied Underground spies and agents, but also Jews who are hiding from the Third Reich."

Hochstetter looked at me with kinder eyes – happy, even – and smiled his predator's grin again. "What evidence do you have to prove this?" he asked me, knowing all-too-well that even the slightest suspicion would have somebody in prison and interrogated by the Gestapo and/or S.S.…or worse.

"I have seen the agent, Tiger." I huffed with excitement, siding with my mother country once more and ignoring the agents' threats, thinking how they are going to roast in hell when I am finished with them. "She was there to threaten me, Herr Major, and told me she could squash me like the bug that I am. Her partners, the Ambros brothers, are agents along with her and hide Jews in their house. I heard them, where windows and doors were not there. Emil, the one brother I met, also threatened me."

Hochstetter clasped his hands together. "Good job, Major," was all he said. "We will send a team over there, and also to Stalag 13, soon."

"Have you any evidence about Stalag 13, Sir?" I dared to ask, holding out some hope, as well, that they all will be eliminated, especially that little Frenchmen…LeBeau, was his name, I believe…so that they will never bother me again. I will never be threatened again, or so I wished.

The Major just smiled again. "We shall see, Rumey," he answered. "We shall see what happens. I had one agent crack and tell me what I wanted to hear. I am hoping, with General Hozellenan's help, that we could make his stepdaughter talk, as well."

I held back a gasp at the mention of my stepfather's name. "I don't doubt it, Major." A lump in my throat then developed, a sense of nervousness coming over me for some reason. "She'll talk, just like the rest of them. They're weaker than our Aryan Race."

"Naturally," Hochstetter laughed. Then, he stopped suddenly and stared past my shoulder when he noticed something behind him. "Yes, Irma, what is it?"

I turned around, only seeing the secretary hiding behind the door, but enough of her was seen. "Major Hochstetter, I just received a message from my mother," she said plainly. "My father is seriously ill and possibly near death. I am needed at home. May I have your permission to leave?"

Hochstetter snorted, but was compassionate enough to let his secretary go, considering I heard that many Gestapo agents had to double-up on work when Hochstetter's own mother was ill and needed him at home. Of course, I heard his consent, waving his hand to tell her to go away and close to the door, and then another snort when the door closed.

"I need to get rid of that girl," Hochstetter only said when Irma was no longer in sight. "She's not strong enough to handle this job. She's too quiet for her own good."

"I agree," I replied, rubbing my arms with the familiar cold came into the room.


	7. Time Slowly Ran Out

I didn't know that my end would come as quickly as Tiger said it would. I should have expected it immediately, since I had tattled on her and the agents, but nothing happened. I walked my office for a few days, trying to figure out when I was going to die, but nothing happened. Everything went on as if nothing happened…for those few days. Nothing else had come out of Nikola. Hochstetter left me alone. And I…I continued in my duties as the brave German officer that I am. However, we know that all things end. And they ended quickly, as they always had.

About a few days after the fateful day in which brought Nikola to Stalag 13, I was brought to my own justice. I found out that my way had not been the best way and that, within moments if they wanted to, I was going to die. I found out that, being the German officer and trying to serve my mother country, was not the right way to go. I should have listened to Lilli, my own Lilli, and listened to Tiger and Emil when I had the chance to think things out more clearly. They had a spy in their midst, I knew it to be true, and it had to be Irma. She was the missing link to everything!

In my last afternoon of freedom, I had no work to do. It being the beginning of May, we could all feel spring in the air and the civilians were not so restless. Major Hochstetter had already dismissed me that morning and told me to go elsewhere. And to hear that meant that I was free for the day. However, I usually had no plan to go, since I worked all the time. After my reinstatement into the great German Army, I was not allowed my old home back. My pride and joy – my old mansion, nearest to Mother, where Lilli had been killed most brutally – was torn down and is being used for yet another government building. I slept in my office mostly, but other days, I would spend the night at a hotel in Hammelburg.

Stretching my arms and legs as I left Hochstetter's sight (the night before, I was in my office, sleeping in my chair), I thought about one person: Irma. Hochstetter had no word from her about her parents and nobody had asked her about them. So, why not me? Why should I not go to the door and ask about everything? Her address was on her desk, in a drawer, where we would all see it, just in case something happened. There should be no problem in seeing her, so I left Gestapo Headquarters quickly, driving a car without a driver, so that I could be alone.

It was a sunny day. And all I wanted to so was see Irma, and ask about her parents in my free hours from work, and ask her out to dinner. Granted, it was not like me, but I wanted some company. I felt the need to see her, ask her to be with me, and let me guide her in all things. She was too much of a timid creature to be left alone. For God's sake, she looked to be about twenty or so. She was too young to be alone in the world, especially taking care of her parents. Why, it was ridiculous!

_She should be enjoying her life, not wasting it away._ I parked the car nearby Irma's home as I reached it, a small place she lived with her parents. _After all, she needs a man in her life. Maybe I can live with her for a while? I can help around the house. She'll need it. Not to mention, I need a place to stay. It'll be the perfect arrangement, before something more permanent comes along. I hope so!_

Before me at the front door was Lilli, as I expected her, as real as if she had been alive. She knew my intentions at every move, ever since I had been captured by Gabrielle and Hochstetter, so I was not surprised to see her at Irma's door, waiting for me. Her hair shone, as if she had it washed that way (I always enjoyed it when she did such), and her eyes, so stubborn, bore down on me, as if I had done something wrong to her. And indeed, didn't it seem like I always had disappointed her, especially after I had been on the run for so long?

"She's not here, you know," Lilli said plainly as I stopped before the door, before her. "Your assistant is not here. She has not been here for quite some time now. She ran off, as soon as you betrayed those people, and she has not been back. She's escaped. She went to Stalag 13 for help."

"What else could I do?" I asked of her, shrugging my shoulders and looking around the house quickly, seeing it deserted. "Why else could I say to them? They would have found out, anyhow. I could not lie to them."

"No, they would not have found them." Lilli crossed her arms as I came upon her at the door again. "Emil and his brother would have gotten all of the Jews out of there, George. You underestimate them. You also do not have enough strength to stand against them anymore. They have already acted against you. You only have hours before you're captured again. Oh, please, George, run! Run, for the sake of our son! He'll be the son of a traitor and will never live it down. Oh, George, please run!"

I walked away from the front door, seeing nobody home, and went towards the car a little ways down the road. Lilli ran next to me, still pleading as she walked next to me, real as life. "George, you have to run now. Get to Stalag 13, too. They're helping those Jews get out. They can help you get out again! Oh, please, George, get out of Germany while you still can! I cannot stand you being with me, as a ghost, forever knowing regret."

I got into the car, seeing Lilli walk into the passenger seat, without opening the door, and widened my eyes as I saw that she sat down, as if a solid figure being my passenger in the car. "I have a job to do, Lilli," I replied to all of this, calm as can be. "You cannot tell me what to do because I know what I must do."

"And what is it?" Lilli challenged me, her stubborn features making itself known once more. "What do you know? You've never listened to me now, you'll never do it later. Farewell, then, my dear George. I shall see you whenever your spirit has passed into this world."

And like that, she was gone. Lilli, with her familiar voice, beautiful body and youthful words, was gone, vanished into thin air. And no cold had been left behind. It had been as if she wasn't there, in the car, with me at all.

~00~

Later that night, knowing that time was slowly running out on me (for some odd reason, I had feelings of dread), I wandered back into Gestapo Headquarters, having such a lovely day walking through Hammelburg. It was like a Market Day for the town, so everybody was out and about, minding their own business and hushing their voice when they saw me, the traitor and turncoat of the Germans. I didn't mind it, of course. All I was really afraid of was Lilli's words…and if they were going to come true or not.

I crept through the empty, dark hallways of the Headquarters, knowing that I was to spend another lonely, stiff night in my office. I was prepared for it. Indeed, I thought that, perhaps, maybe my inner feelings of dread and death were false. Maybe I was going to wake up in the morning, knowing that it was all a dream? Maybe everything was going to be so-called "back to normal"?

_Oh, who am I kidding? _I walked slowly towards my office, thinking. _Lilli might be right. She was about everything else. No, she's a ghost. She's dead. She can't be back from the dead, telling me what I should and should not do. She's a fragment of a demented mind. Yes, I am insane. I dreamt of her often enough, missing her. Yes, it is just my mind…_

"Ah, Major von Rumey, it's a pleasure to see you this evening." As I turned the knob to the office door, I heard a voice behind me. Turning around, I saw Major Hochstetter, a gun poised to kill me within in instant: an easy reach to my head.

I faced him, nervousness reaching deep within my soul, shaking it harder. "It's a pleasure to see you as well, Major. What do I owe for this visit?"

"Major George von Rumey, I arrested you in the name of Hitler and of the Third Reich," was the reply I received, a predator's smile back on Hochstetter's face. "Come with me now. It'll be easier for you if you did."

What choice did I have? Like before, I had no way to escape. Behind Hochstetter, deep within the dark hallways of Gestapo Headquarters, was an army of men, their guns pointed at me, just in case I wanted to escape and be on the run once more.

Except, this time, there was to be no more running. My back was against no wall. I had no way to escape anymore.

I gave myself up readily. "I'll do with pleasure, Major, if I only knew the charges," I only said, letting Hochstetter's soldiers take me roughly by the shoulders, smiling as I saw my Lilli for a brief second, waving at me and smiling sadly herself before disappearing. "Where shall I go this time? I have no information for you."

"We shall be making a special trip for you, Rumey," Hochstetter replied, smiling as he followed me and his guards. "We are going to Stalag 13 tomorrow, to see your friends and if the rumors are true: there are tunnels to be discovered. Or, perhaps, your sister will talk about her activities of war with you?"

I wanted to laugh, but knew better. It would make me guiltier. _And yet, here I am, still the loyal German soldier, betrayed once more. There were two sides, they gave me the chance, and here I am, about to be killed, for sure._ I smiled again, knowing, as I was led through a side door and down some stairs, that I was going to be in prison again. _I was on the run, watching my life ebb from me as I made the greatest decisions of my life. I don't know what happened…what made me change…but all I know is that, when I see Nikola, I shall make her understand. She needs to survive, if I cannot…if Jozef cannot. I may hate her, but she needs to know._

I was thrown into a cell, the door shutting behind me, as if another finale had been enacted. Instead, we all knew that it was the true end: the end of my life.

_And I shall go to it with pride. I am a German soldier. I shall bear it._

I stood up, weakened not at all by the ordeal. Turning to the window, I watched the night, the stars twinkling at me: a black and white complexion, smeared and arranged to perfection. Soon enough, it will bleed for me. It would bleed the blood of dawn. And with it, comes my death.

ea6f77c9-04f7-4cf2-ae01-460ee0a946ea

1.03.01


	8. The Stalag 13 Log

_The Official Stalag 13 Log  
Writer: Sergeant James Kinchloe  
Commanding Officer: Colonel Robert E. Hogan  
May 10, 1943, 2200 Hours_

_Captain/Major George von Rumey, a former German officer and Gestapo agent, was executed by Major Hochstetter. It was today at about 1900 hours, German time. Formally processed here as an escaped German officer, Captain von Rumey was first captured by a double agent of the Underground and handed over to Major Hochstetter at the Hammelburg Gestapo Headquarters. After being interrogated for days, he turned his coat and began a short career as a Gestapo officer. And as one, he betrayed all of us, but never once shook, carrying his courage with him wherever he went._

_Although Agents Tiger, Maeve and Rhiannon have apprehended him and brought him to "justice" because of his threat upon their and our operations, Captain von Rumey also helped to save the Stalag 13 operation through his action, stupid as they are labeled. Directly, he placed this base in danger. Indirectly, he battled his conscience and told the last prisoner officially processed at Stalag 13 – Colonel Nikola A. Michalovich – a mystery that could not be solved until passed onto us._

_The last night of Captain von Rumey's life, as seen in Barracks 2 of Stalag 13, is as follows:_

_After the briefing of Colonel Michalovich in the tunnels by Colonel Hogan (being a new prisoner), Major Hochstetter of the Gestapo comes to Stalag 13 with his men, coming into Barracks 2 with the intent of finding tunnels._

_All prisoners of the Axis Forces were present and accounted for when the call came from Sergeant Andrew Carter, who watched the door for the Nazis to come, to warn those below to come up._

_As all prisoner came up to meet their captors, the usual pleasantries were exchanged and jokes muttered from the prisoners around the barracks, although we were told to shut up and were put on report for disrespect to German officers._

_Major Hochstetter revealed his true intentions, finding no tunnels when his men dug into the barracks' floors, as they were well hidden: to, again, investigate the strange happenings around Stalag 13 and especially in the Hammelburg area._

_As everyone stood or was seated, Captain von Rumey was shown to all, running to his sister, Colonel Michalovich, and standing her up from her seat at the center table, pinned her back with her right arm, warning her to run._

_Major Hochstetter and Sergeant Amsel (a man of the former) both aimed their guns to Captain von Rumey's head and shot, killing him and not the Colonel._

_As the Colonel suffered from previous wounds, she was taken into medical care while her brother, Captain George von Rumey, was left to die on the floor of Barracks 2._

_Later that evening, when the orders came from our camp kommandant, Colonel Klink, to bury the body, five men – Colonel Hogan, Sergeant Carter, Corporals LeBeau and Newkirk and myself – buried the body by the Kantine, where it still stays._

_An official death certificate was drawn up for the dead man, his death now a taboo subject with the Nazis, seeing as how Captain von Rumey is now considered a traitor to the country._

_Jozef von Rumey, the deceased person's son, has not been located and will be searched for as soon as possible, when agents of the field are available._

_Note: for the record, this man may have been the danger we did not need here at Stalag 13, but he was a brave man to the end. He was one that served his country well, deserving the respect in that aspect. However, he still stands as a traitor to us…and to them. I personally cannot condemn him anymore than what he deserved._

_This personal account, and official log of the camp, has been written by Sergeant James Kinchloe and approved of by Colonel Robert E. Hogan. It is to be sent to Allied Headquarters, London, England, as soon as possible, for record and to determine if the subject has been justly eliminated and if all agents acted rightly._

_Sergeant James Kinchloe_

_Colonel Robert E. Hogan_

ea6f77c9-04f7-4cf2-ae01-460ee0a946ea

1.03.01


End file.
